Well... I may have gotten the bed wetting thing licked, it hasn't happened in 2 nights - but literally 2 minutes ago I caught the kitten peeing on the carpet in the corner. His litter pan is in the opposite corner.

He has deficated in the litter many times and urinated in it on Saturday when I got him. Come to think of it I've only seen him deficate in it since that point. Makes me wonder where all the urine has gone. :confused:

Now, I JUST cleaned the litter a few hours ago. I remember my dad saying once to leave some of the old litter in so that they don't get confused about where to go. Is this what happened? Should I do that?

He's just 8 weeks old. If he's not litter trained properly, how can I train him? For some reason I assumed that "came" that way as I've never had to consider anything else with my other cats.

Thanks in advance,
Jennifer and Carlo

QuinnsMom

October 9th, 2003, 10:58 AM

I think that he just needs more time. Every time you catch him going NOT in his litter box, clap your hands, say NO and place him in his litter box (much like you would train a dog).
Then praise him if he does go in the box.

Some cats just need a little more time and help. 8 weeks is really early. How long have you had him and when was he taken from his mother?

Chassy

October 9th, 2003, 11:33 AM

I've had him since this past Saturday, Sept 27th. He was taken from his mother Sept 22nd, so about 7 weeks.

Maybe he didn't have time to learn from her example??

My other two cats just took to it right away. I assumed that it was almost ingrained. I don't know why I assumed that however, probably because I've just never had to think about it before.

Thanks so much for replying :) I appreciate any help I can get.

Lucky Rescue

October 9th, 2003, 12:12 PM

If your kitten stayed with his mom until he was 7 weeks, he should certainly have learned to use the litterbox. Did you see him with the rest of the kittens? Was the area clean and did they have more than one litterbox?

First take him to the vet to see if he has a physical problem, such as a bladder infection. This can cause cats and kittens to avoid the litterbox.

If everything is fine, I would confine him to a large dog crate (if you have one) with his litterbox at one end and his food at the other. If you don't have a dog crate, use a small bathroom or laundry area. This should retrain him.

8 week old kittens don't have much time between feeling the urge to go and actually peeing. If you don't have extra litterboxes, I would get a few and put them in various areas around the house. You've only had him a week and if you let him loose in the house right away, he may forget where his LB is, or not have enough time to get to it.

Chassy

October 9th, 2003, 12:21 PM

I did see him with the rest of his littermates and the area was very tidy. His mother is an indoor/outdoor cat although his littermates all became litter trained.

When I got him on Saturday he used the box then and I got him to go yesterday by putting him in the box immediately after feeding and keeping him there by blocking him with my hands. He's not a pushy cat so he just sat and waited until I moved them. By that time though he had decided to go. I did not pysically restrain him though - don't want to give him something else to fear. After I commended him by playing with him for a few minutes. I tried that again this morning after breakfast, but he didn't have to go.

I like the idea of the dog crate. My neighbour has one I can borrow when he gets home from work. I'll give that a try.